Inspired by Jimi Hendrix's theatrics with the electric guitar, Emerson was famous for his showmanship and outlandish on-stage performance style.

"That part of the act was something that just felt natural to do; something that allowed me be more expressive," he told Counterculture magazine.

ELP achieved an international following and were particularly popular in Britain and Japan. Several of the group's albums, including Tarkus, Trilogy, and Brain Salad Surgery entered the top five on the British chart.

Tarkus, released in 1971, featured an opening track lasting more than 20 minutes, inspired by the fictional Tarkus character - a half-tank, half-armadillo creature that would appear on stage at gigs.

Synthesizer tribute

Before ELP, Emerson - who was born in Yorkshire in 1944 - was a member of The Nice, which formed in 1967 but disbanded three years later.

In later life he pursued a solo career and remained active in the music business. He was forced to call off a tour in 2010 due to an abnormal growth in his colon, but had a tour of Japan scheduled for next month.

His last concert took place in July 2015 at the Barbican in London, where he performed alongside the BBC Concert Orchestra in a tribute to Robert Moog, the inventor of the Moog synthesizer.

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The band, pictured here in 1970, with Emerson on left, were very popular in the UK and Japan

Comedy writer, producer and radio DJ Danny Baker also paid tribute to Emerson, who he described as "the maestro".

He tweeted: "ELP, Pavilion Piccadilly 1971. Still got the ticket still got the program still got the sound in my ears. RIP Keith."

A message of admiration was also made by chart-topping musician Mark Ronson, who paid tribute to Emerson by tweeting a link to a live video performance of ELP.

Steve Hackett, former lead guitarist with Genesis, praised his talent, saying: "I think a lot of pop stars are there because they've got great hairstyles or could dance wonderfully.

"But he was, above all, a fantastic musician, arranger and writer - and a great showman, of course.